Sparks in the Grass
by maraudersinmydreams
Summary: Once Upon a Time two children fell in love in a war, in a collision, in an explosion. And there wasn't a happily ever after. A canon account of the marauders era - WIP
1. Dog Days of Summer

**Chapter 1: Dog Days Of Summer**

A drowsy silence lay over the rows of dilapidated brick houses. All down the street, windows were thrown open in a desperate and unfounded attempt to invite in any passing breeze.

The inhabitants of Cokeworth had resigned themselves to the marginally cooler interiors of their homes to cope with the heat wave that was currently griping Britain; it was the hottest summer for 350 years and there hadn't been a scrap of rain in weeks. Bar a few children in the small park on the top of the hill, the town was relatively deserted. It was utterly uneventful.

In fact, the only person who had ventured outside over the age of ten was a copper- headed teenage girl walking in laps around the block. She wore a frown and kicked each rock that she came across with great force. Her clothes were in date- if a bit out of style- and strands of red hair were falling out of a bun pilled on the top of her head which was being held together with what to the uninitiated, looked like a stick.

Lily Evans shuffled along the sidewalk, same as she had been doing for the past couple of hours, trying to calm herself down enough to return home- she had so far been unsuccessful. As much as she tried, the fight she had just had with her sister was playing on a loop in her mind.

Arguments between the two sisters were common, if not expected when Lily came home for the holidays. Petunia had always resented Lily and her 'special talents' as their parents put it.

This feud had sprung up after a few particularly vicious words from Petunia evoked a fuming Lily to empty a flask of frogspawn into her sister's tea, because _Good God Tuney, get over yourself!_

It took Petunia several minutes of shrieking to compose herself enough to get angry, and Mrs. Evans came home to the all- too- familiar sound of her daughters having a row in the kitchen.

"But mum, Lily started it!" Petunia protested.

"Hardly!" Her sister snorted. "Maybe if you watched what came out of your mouth- "

Petunia scowled, pointing her finger accusingly at the witch.

"Don't get righteous with me, Lily. I can see right through this magic rubbish"

"Oh, get your head out of your- "

It was at this point that Mrs. Evans intervened, cutting Lily off before she could finish the scathing indictment of her sister.

"You will fix your attitudes towards one another at once. I will not tolerate this sort of conflict under my roof, girls"

"Fine," Lily grumbled. With cheeks glowing pink and fists clenched, she flounced out of the living room without so much as a parting glare.

That was two hours ago and the sun was beginning to set over the top of an immense chimney, one of the only remnants of the disused mill. _Time to go home_ , Lily thought. She heaved a sigh and turned around to walk through the alleyway, joining the road she was currently trudging along and Spinner's End. She tried to avoid Spinner's End, least she run into her former best friend, Severus Snape. She had been avoiding him for over a month and it was proving more difficult than Lily had anticipated.

She breathed a mixed sigh of relief tinged with disappointment as she turned into Hamel Court without an appearance from Severus. How she would like to just sit and talk with him, he would understand what was going on with her sister. He was the only one with whom she told everything. Or at least, he had been.

It had been six weeks since the day of their Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL. A relatively easy exam, Lily had thought, though it wasn't so much the test that was playing on her mind, as the events that transpired afterwards.

Severus sprawled on the ground by the tree next to the lake, James Potter standing over him, wand drawn and blood seeping out of the cut on his cheek…

Those three words that caused knots in her stomach and a stabbing in her chest…

Lily dragged her feet along the pathway, leading up to the door of her house. She couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts, she loved her parents immensely but they were often, working. Her sister wasn't the most thrilling conversationalists and as such, she was usually left alone.

Dashing up the stairs, the witch collapsed on her faded duvet. Intrusive thoughts penetrating her consciousness. Before _that day,_ (as she had begun calling it in her head) she had been resolved to spending the summer holidays fixing her relationship with Sev. That day by the lake was evocative of months of gradual distancing and isolation. In fact, she had been rather angry with him. With his stupid death eater friends and stupid made up curses and stupid _I know something you don't_ attitude… She had still defended him. She always defended him. What was it he'd said after Mulciber nearly hexed Mary MacDonald's ear off? _It was a laugh, that's all._

She sighed and rolled over onto her right side, her desk was bathed in the orange glow of the sunset. It was an organised mess, not unlike Lily herself. A small pile of letters from her friends was sat in the centre. She couldn't bring herself to respond. To be completely frank, she was utterly embarrassed. They were filled with sympathies and offers to stay, Mary had even sent a box of chocolates. How long had she made excuses for Severus? Ignoring the behaviour that was right under her nose? And now she had been proven completely and fantastically wrong. She did need to reply eventually though; Marlene's owl had obviously been instructed not to leave her side until it had acquired a reply and so was now living on the top of Lily's bookshelf.

She could just feel herself slipping into unconsciousness when a loud knock on her bedroom door startled her into wakefulness.

"Lily, it's dad, can I come in?" Her fathers voice was loud and booming.

"Yeah, I guess." She stifled a yawn.

The door creaked open and Mr. Evans poked his head inside. "I think we need to have a little chat."

"Okay..." Lily said, hesitantly pulling herself into sitting position.

"Look, you've got to cut Petunia some slack." He said, perching on the foot of her bed.

She felt hurt, "Why should I? She's the one who can't accept me for who I am." She replied defensively.

He sighed, "Look, Lily. You've got to understand how Petunias' feeling. You go away to Hogwarts for most of the year and she's left at home, then you come back and she's thrown for a loop." He looked at her through his spectacles, the weariness of age showing.

"How is that fair? I didn't choose to be born a witch and go to Hogwarts. I didn't choose to have my sister hate me!" She half yelled, her previous tiredness forgotten.

Mr. Evans sighed, "I just want you to know how she's feeling right now, maybe a bit of mutual understanding might bring you two closer together." Her father said, getting up from the bed and walking back towards the door.

"I want you two to make up, Lily, this is getting ridiculous. A little forgiveness and compassion can go a long way, I want you to remember that." He closed the door with a silent _click_ and left Lily sitting alone in the dark with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company.

The next morning came slowly, interrupted sleep refusing her rest.

Turning with a groan, she threw on her robe and went downstairs, a noticeable rumble in her stomach too prominent to allow her another attempt at sleeping.

Her mother was sitting in the living room drinking a cup of tea from a chipped mug, Petunia was also sitting on the sofa, but Lily made a point of ignoring her, despite her father's speech still ringing guiltily in her ears.

Mrs. Evans gave a loud tut in the direction of the television set. "Have you seen this? Another two murders overnight!"

"Murders?" Lily questioned.

"Yes, down in Suffolk." Her mother said taking another sip of her drink.

"Did they say how they were killed?"

"Gang violence apparently."

Lily's eyebrows furrowed, _death eaters more likely_ she thought. Muggles couldn't trace the killing curse and these sorts of attacks were common, now the war was fully out- in- the- open.

She knew, but her parents and sister didn't, that the terrible events that had been occurring lately, weren't a series of random, unfortunate events. They were calculated acts to insight terror within both the magical and muggle communities. Death Eaters, as they had begun to call themselves, were savaging the country; you couldn't open a paper or turn the television on without being confronted with stories of murder or panic, and it was no accident that Lily had chosen not to tell her parents of the war that was raging right under their noses.

Her sister and mother had evidently moved on, and were now discussing the latest product displayed on the T.V, some new spangled hoover that's suction was apparently ten times that of it's competitors.

Petunias sole goal (or so it seemed) was to get married and become a housewife. A future Lily couldn't fathom envisioning.

Although Lily, at the age of 16, hadn't sat down and planned her _entire_ life out, knew she detested the idea of the 'ordinary' life that Petunia so desperately desired. The Evans's hadn't much money and Petunia seemed to relish the idea of propelling herself into the middle class with the exchange of some vows.

Toast in hand, she made her way back to her room. Lily Evans bedroom was what you could reasonably expect from a teenage girl; cluttered but not unmanageably so, painted in yellow and white. A record player took pride of place on the dresser.

Yes, it was perfectly ordinary at first glance. However, if you took a deeper glance, the photographs that were dotted around the room, appeared to be moving. The posters were not of her favourite football team but for a thing called Quidditch and the books held such abnormal titles as _History of Magic_ and _Spellman's Syllabary_.

She picked up one of the letters on her desk.

Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans had been friends for six years, she was the closest friend she had outside of Severus and although Marlene hadn't exactly encouraged the friendship between the Slytherin and Gryffindor, Lily knew she meant well and after the fiasco of the previous year she couldn't exactly hold it against her, although, to Marlene's credit, she never once said 'I told you so.'

Marlene was the living embodiment of the phrase _beach babe_ with her blonde hair and blue eyes she looked very out of place against the Scottish countryside where they spent most of the year.

Lily scanned the parchment again, deciding that she better reply to at least one letter, lest she be bombarded with a flurry from even more concerned friends.

 _The shop has been hectic... Mum, dad AND Martha have all been run off their feet with work at the ministry._

Marlene had a very influential family, her mother was Senior Undersecretary to the Minster of Magic and her father was head of the department for International Co- operation. Her older sister had recently qualified as an auror and as such, they shunted Marlene to her Aunts where she was put to use in the family sweet shop.

 _Bertie- Botts has released 47 new flavours! Just when I thought they had got them all... I'll bring a heap for the train ride... Seen Snape at all? I hope not, you should stay away from him, now more than ever... I know you're still upset about the whole thing but just know that he's a complete idiot and you have so many friends that would be more than willing to give him a good smack in the face for you if you ever feel so inclined…_

 _Anyway... I hope you haven't done your school shopping yet; I'm going down in a few days and would love some company, you should come stay. We can go to Diagon Alley and hang out in muggle London – whatever you want!_

 _Hope to see you soon, if not then I'll meet you on platform 9 ¾ September 1st (you know the drill)_

 _All of my love,_

 _Marlene_

Lily scribbled a response, saying that, no she hadn't done her shopping and yes, she would very much like to join her in the week. Maybe getting out of Cokeworth would be a good thing. It certainly couldn't be worse than dodging Snape round every bend and fighting with her sister.

Purposefully avoiding the subject of Snape, she scribbled her name at the bottom, sealed the letter in an envelope and waiting for Marlene's owl to return from hunting.

The Prophet owl came before Marlene's owl had returned. Lily shoved a Knut into its pouch and quickly glanced at the front page, sure enough it read:

TWO MUGGLES DEAD IN DEATH EATER ATTACK THAT HAS SHAMED FAILING AUROR OFFICE.

 _The muggles, Martha Stark (28) and John Stark (33) from Nottingham, were on a date at their local cinema complex (a muggle form of entertainment) when they were ambushed by passing death eaters unknown._

Lily stopped reading there; the papers had been printing stories like that all holidays. The only difference was the name and number of the victims on the page.

She set the paper down and plonked herself on the bed, lying in the steadily growing heat of the day.  
Her mind drifted to her friends, and she wondered what they would be doing on the hot August day; Marlene would probably be reading Witch Weekly and lounging in the back of her Aunts sweet shop. Emmeline Vance, another Gryffindor girl in her year would doubtlessly be babysitting her little brother.

A squawk pulled her from her mindless wanderings, Marlene's owl had returned. Lily jumped up and tied her letter to its leg. It gave her a friendly peck and flew out the window. Lily watched until it was nothing more than a brown speck on the horizon.

The next few days blended together in a haze of heat and dust. The humidity wasn't releasing its grip on the small island and there was no rain to release the hold. Marlene had replied promptly to her letter and the girls had arranged for Lily to be picked up the next Friday, around 11, and stay at the Leaky Cauldron till September First, where they would catch the Hogwarts Express together, meeting up with Emmeline at some point along the way.

Lily woke up very early on Friday, the sun streaming in from her window and projecting sun spots behind her eyelids. She lay for a few minutes with the sun on her face before she started the slow process of getting up and beginning to pack.

Grabbing her trunk, she tipped out the contents of last term and went around her room, throwing the things she needed for the next, onto her bed.

She was stuck under her bed, searching for her favourite skirt when she heard her mother calling her name.

Swearing, as she banged her head on the underside of the bed, she crawled out and dodged her way round the mess of clothes and books that was littering her floor, into the hall.

"Yeah, mum?" She called, leaning over the bannister.

"I'm going to work now, come out and give me a kiss before I go."

Jumping the stairs two at a time, she landed on the lower landing the same time her mother appeared around the doorframe.

"Ooh, come here." Mrs. Evans said, embracing her youngest daughter in a hug. "I'll miss you, make sure you write every week, and be sure to come home at Christmas."

"I will mum, promise." Lily replied, pulling away from her mother's hug.

"Love you, darling." Mrs. Evans said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Love you too." Lily watched her mother walk down the garden path and get into her car before returning to her room to finish the arduous task of packing for the term.

Her father left with a similar exchange a few minutes later, leaving just Petunia and Lily in the house. With her trunk packed and herself dressed, showered, and ready to go, she was left to sit with her rather uncomftable looking sister in the living room, watching a show neither of them liked.

Lily looked out the window when it was five to eleven; she hoped that Marlene would be prompt. Sitting awkwardly with her sister wasn't her idea of a good time.

As she looked out the window, she saw a rather pretty girl with a wave of golden hair and fine features dangling dangerously out the window of a black car, waving madly as they raced up the street and pulled up next to the house.

A broad grin, spreading onto her face, Lily raced out the door and dashed past the path, throwing the gate open as she went.

"LILY!" Marlene screamed as she jumped from the car, engulfing Lily in a hug.

"Marlene! I've missed you." Lily said, as she hugged her friend.

"Geez, you two. You'd think you hadn't seen each other in a year!" An older girl said as she got out the driving seat of the car.

"Martha!" Lily exclaimed, drawing back from Marlene and moving to embrace her older sister.

"I thought you'd be at work!" Lily said, surprised. "And is this a car?"

"I was but I managed to get away for an hour, Frank's covering for me." Martha grinned. "You like it? It's one of the ministry's, I've stolen it for the day."

"Come on then! Let's get your trunk!" Marlene squealed, pulling Lily towards the house, the excitement in her voice clear and the smile on her face, broad.

"Where's your sister?" Martha asked as they entered the hallway.

"She should be around." Lily replied, peering round a doorframe, in a feeble attempt to look for her. "I'll go get my things."

Marlene and Lily headed up the stairs.

"So... what's been going on?" Lily asked as she heaved her trunk off her bed, wincing at the crash it made as it hit the floor.

"Sweets, sweets and more sweets! I swear, I see one more fizzing whizbee I'm going to lose it." She said, grabbing the other end of the trunk.

The girls pulled the trunk down the stairs, wincing as it hit each step.

"Just a few more months and we'll be of age. We'll never have to carry anything again." Marlene complained with a grimace.

Lily laughed, "Marlene, when have you ever abided by the restrictions on underage magic?"

She scoffed. "Says you! I do recall you receiving at least two warnings last year."

Lily shrugged, a coy smile playing at her lips, "hey, a witch has got to do what a witch has got to do. They were extenuating circumstances."

"Pfft," Marlene scoffed as she readjusted her grip on the handle, "annoying your sister is hardly an extenuating circumstance."

"You ready to go?" Martha asked, as the girls reached the bottom of the stairs. Petunia was stood next to her, shooting wary glances at all three witches.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Lily said, pretending to ignore the intensity of Petunia's glare.

"So... I'll see you at Christmas, will I?" Lily asked her sister.

"I suppose."

"Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye." Petunia said, curtly shutting the door in Lily's face.

"Oii, Lily! Hurry up, I want to get to London" Marlene shouted, already hanging half way out the car.

"Coming." Lily said, retreating from the shut door and clambering inside the little car, hiding her disappointment in Petunia's farewell.

"This week is going to be amazing, the leaky caldron is usually so busy this time of year but mum managed to get us a room." Marlene said as Martha pulled out of the cul-de-sac.

"Emmeline might be meeting us there tomorrow." Lily said, peering out the window, watching the street race by.

"Are you excited?" Marlene asked. "We're sixth years now! N.E. are starting, our lives are beginning!"

Lily laughed, "we've still got two years left at Hogwarts."

"It'll be fun! Just think, a week from now we'll be back in our rooms, bossing the younger kids around. PLUS, sixth years get loads of free lessons." Marlene said, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"I wouldn't bargain so much on those free lessons, you'll need it to study, trust me." Martha said from the front of the car.

"Oh shush! Stop being such a spoil sport." Marlene said, a smile still on her face.

"I'm looking forward to it." Lily said grinning. "Seriously, after last year, this term can only be an improvement."

"I think I'm looking forward to Quidditch season the most. It was Potter that won us the cup last year and he better do it again. Ingram was useless." Marlene scoffed at the former – now graduated – Gryffindor captain.

"I don't think he could handle the blow to his ego if he lost." Lily said.

"Speaking of Potter..." Marlene said, suggestively.

"No way Marlene, don't even go there."

"Lily, I know you think he's got a bit of an ego (Lily scoffed) and you're absolutely right, he does."

"Your point?" Lily folded her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"And I just think that if you got to know him a bit you might just start to like him again."

Marlene sighed, "don't you look at me like that." Lily's glare intensified. "I know you had a little crush."

The red head turned to face the window. "No, I didn't." She murmured as she watched the houses turn into the farm land that neighboured the motorway.

"Sounds like you need to do a better job of convincing yourself that." The other witch began inspecting her chipped nails. "Because you could have fooled me; ugh, look, James Potter is an ass at the best of times but think about it. We want to fight in this stupid war, don't we?"

Lily sniffed, "course…"

"And who else do you think is going to be so suicidal as to jump into near certain death at the first available oppourtunity."

Marlene had her. James Potter was sure to be a fixture in her life for the foreseeable future. Potter was a lot of things – afraid of a challenge he was not.

"Oii, no talk of near certain death in my presence please." Lily had almost forgotten Martha was in the car.

Marlene smirked, "sorry sis. But come on, you know the dangers better than anyone else."

"Yeah, I do, and I don't need my little sister reminding me." The auror was paying little attention to the road. "This war is six years old and we've made it this far alive, haven't we? A little optimism wouldn't be so difficult, would it?" 

"Optimism," Marlene pondered, hand stroking an imaginary beard, "never heard of it."

Lily and Martha both rolled their eyes.

There was a gleam in Marlene's eye. "Mock me all you like, Lily Evans, but we'll see who's laughing in the end.


	2. Encounters of the Trouble - Making Kind

**Chapter 2: Encounters of the trouble- making kind**

Diagon Alley should have been full to bursting. It was a perfect storm: the sun was out, families had just returned from holidays and Hogwarts was due to resume in a little over a week's time. It was at this time of year that parents usually began the mad dash for school supplies while children ran wild, sending sparks flying from the tips of their newly acquired wands. There shouldn't have been room to so much as breath, let alone take a leisurely stroll down the high street. Nevertheless, taking a stroll was _exactly_ what James Potter and Sirius Black were doing at that precise moment.

The two boys had been best friends since their first night in Gryffindor tower some 6 years ago.

James kicked a passing rock. "It's a bit eerie, isn't it? Diagon Alley abandoned like this?"

"S'pose so," Sirius replied, flicking his hair off his face. "Still less disturbing than my place. My mother has just mounted the head of another house elf on the wall. Smack bang outside my room." He made a face.

"Pleasant."

"Positively."

"How is it?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged, "it's - you know, demented." He gave a low bark of a laugh. Sirius didn't have the healthiest home life.

"You know you can always stay with me, Padfoot. I mean it."

Sirius smiled at the ground, "thanks Prongs."

James hated the idea of his best friend living in a place like that. Filled with blood purists who thought their own son was a traitor for having the audacity to believe muggles were human beings. He knew it wasn't easy. James himself had never had to deal with such familial strife. He came from a long line of potioneers and the Potters had money to _burn_. In that respects, James supposed, they were not unlike the Blacks who were also a wealthy pure blood family. They differed in their philosophies. James' grandfather, Henry was an outspokenly pro-muggle member of the Wizengamot and the Potter's had never subscribed to the ideals of pure blood supremacy. Comparatively, you wouldn't catch a Black (excluding Sirius) dead defending muggles or muggle-borns. James grew up adored, Sirius grew up tolerated.

James was a bit of a collector. There was Sirius, the boy who came from a family that hated him, Peter, who'd been bullied at his muggle primary school and Remus, the werewolf.

"Heard anything from Moony lately?" James asked.

"No," Sirius replied, grateful for the change of subject. Feelings made him… uncomfortable. "Next full moon is the week after we get back to school. I'm thinking we plot the south side of the forbidden forest next."

James, forever the adrenaline junkie smiled, "and don't forget the third floor. I'm sure there's a secret passage way in there somewhere."

"And then we'll be done, won't we? The map'll be finished."

James smiled, "think of what we could do! Snape'll have nothing on us."

Sirius smirked, "he _already_ has nothing on us."

James smiled in return, "c'mon, Padfoot, let's go back to the leaky cauldron. There's nothing to do out here."

"Lead the way Prongs."

The boys turned on their heels and headed back down the cobblestone streets.

"Who do you reckon will get Quidditch Captain now that Ingram has left? Flynn Alcorn?" Sirius inquired.

"No way! You know how seriously McGonagall takes Quidditch, he's too thick."

"And you're not much better." A new croaky, voice said from behind.

The boys turned to find a tired looking Remus Lupin, smiling broadly at them.

"Moony!" James exclaimed, embracing his friend.

"I didn't know you were in London." Sirius added as he clasped Remus's shoulder. "When did you arrive? Are you staying at the leaky caldron?"

Remus had grown significantly since the last time he'd seen him, James observed, and had the appearance as though he hadn't quite got the hang of how to hold himself with his extended limbs. He now surpassed both Sirius and James in height, a fact, James tried not to let bother him.

"About half an hour ago. Mum and dad are visiting my grandparents in Muggle London. I'm only here for a couple days to get my school supplies but I think I could persuade mum and dad to let me stay longer."

"Brilliant," Sirius exclaimed, "come one we're going to plan for the next full moon."

Remus rolled his eyes, "glad one of us can enjoy it."

The three boys made their way into the pub and threw themselves in a booth.

"I'll grab the butterbeers." Sirius proclaimed, heading over towards the counter, where Tom the innkeeper was serving.

Remus pulled a scrappy piece of parchment out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

He tapped it with his wand and spoke, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Ink began to bleed through onto the parchment, forming corridors and classrooms. The ink spilled further along the page, fashioning the grounds of Hogwarts as well as the forbidden forest.

Sirius returned, balancing three pint glasses in his arms. He set them down. "See there," he pointed to an empty spot on the left-hand side of the page. "There's a whole chunk of the forest missing."

Remus frowned, "how long do you think it'll take us to plot?"

Sirius shrugged, "a full night to explore. But I reckon Wormtail could get in drawn in a weekend."

Peter Pettigrew, the final member of their ensemble, was the map's illustrator. And what he lacked in brains, he more than made up for in his ability to draw the groups findings.

"Where is Wormtail anyway?" Sirius asked as he leaned back in his seat.

Remus shrugged, "at home. You know his mum doesn't like him coming out."

Sirius gave a bark of a laugh, "she'd lose her head if she found out her son was an unregistered animagus who ran around with a werewolf once a month."

They sat chatting, drinking butterbeer and pouring over the map until they could see the evening sun spill into the windows of the pub.

They decided to call it a day just before it got dark to avoid the nightly Ministry patrols.

Remus's ran off to catch the bus, quite an amusing scene to the pure- blooded James and Sirius whom had never had to use public transport of the Muggle kind in their lives. With a hurried goodbye and promise to meet again tomorrow, he boarded the bus.

James meanwhile had a room at the inn. His parents were also staying at the Leaky Cauldron to make sure their son had everything he could possibly need or desire before term began. They were to return to Winchester, the picture- perfect village in which they lived - at some point over the next few days. James wasn't happy about it. He hated leaving Sirius behind in London. He didn't know why he didn't just move in to the Potter's, his parents loved Sirius like another son; they would be delighted to have him. Alas, James considered, Sirius was proud and would consider leaving akin to giving up. He would stick it out as long as he could.

Sirius and James walked back to the pub.

"You know you can stay in my room if you want. You don't have to go home." James suggested, trying to be nonchalant.

Sirius shook his head, "no, it'll only be worse if I don't show up. I'll see you tomorrow though, won't I?" He asked hopefully, "you're not leaving for another few days, right."

"Yeah I'll be here."

They boys parted and Sirius trudged, hands in his pockets, down the street. Diagon Alley was only five minutes from his home (though home wasn't quite the right word). The streetlights danced in and out of fluorescent illumination, harshly lighting the small patch of grey sidewalk below.

12 Grimmauld Place sensed Sirius' approach and opened up before him, revealing a large, stately looking townhouse.

Opening the door, he was greeted by the screech of his mother.

"Where is that boy? I swear he's more Potter than Black these days." Walburga Black carped. "What do you think Orion? The boy doesn't appreciate the institution he was born into."

Sirius lingered at the door to the sitting room where his parents were sat, what they were saying wasn't exactly new but Sirius could feel himself settling into a bad mood, and he was looking for something to get him entirely pissed off. His parents were generally good at that sort of thing.

"At least the Potter's are pure blood, not like that Lupin character he hangs around with." Orion sniffed. "A muggle mother." He spat.

"And don't forget that Pettigrew boy, their whole little gang is run amok with blood traitors and half bloods." Walburga added, keen to add to the criticisms of her son's friends. "The whole lot of them are filthy."

Sirius grabbed the doorknob ready to burst in and do… well, he didn't know what he'd do… knowing Sirius however, it was sure to get him hexed into oblivion. Before he could yank the door open, he felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back.

It was Regulus; his 13-year-old brother who was standing in front of him, looking every inch the spitting image of Sirius.

"What do you want?" Sirius demanded, shrugging off his brothers' hand.

"For you to not get yourself killed." Regulus replied, "Give it a rest, nothing you say is going to get them to change their mind about you _or_ your friends."

Sirius grunted, he knew that his brother was right.

"Yeah… well… whatever Reg… just mind your own business." Sirius responded, "leave me alone." He stomped up the stairs like the dramatic teenager he was, leaving his brother without a backwards glance.

"Why should I?" Regulus called after him. "You know they're not wrong. Why do you insist on making them angry? If you just took down those stupid posters and actually heard them out- "

Sirius cut him off with a venom in his voice, "do not start with me Regulus. You know nothing except the propaganda they and your precious friends feed you." He continued to stomp down the hall, pushing passed Kreacher till he reached his room, kicking the door open and slamming it behind him.

His room was his safe haven in the hell that was 12 Grimmauld Place. The red Gryffindor banners were a stark contrast the gloom of green, black and silver that covered the rest of the house and the risqué pictures of scantily clad Muggle girls on motorbikes were particularly irksome to his conservative witch mother.

He kicked his trunk in anger; his fury had come on aggressively and all at once. He'd been like this all summer, becoming progressively more resentful at home. He supposed there was some psychological reason behind it that Remus would delight in unraveling, however Sirius had no intention of talking it out.

He grabbed the quaffle that had been carelessly thrown onto the floor last summer after a Quidditch- orientated visit to the Potter's and leaned back onto his bed. He began throwing it methodically up and down. His own personal brand of therapy.

 _Up_

'Stupid bigots, don't know what they're talking about.'

 _Down_

'Think they're so _pure_ and perfect.'

 _Up_

'So obsessed with blood… can't see anything else.'

 _Down_

'Regulus just as brainwashed as the rest of them.'

He had lost track of time when he felt his eyes droop, it was only when he missed the quaffle and received a large smack square in the nose that he decided it was best to go to sleep.

He changed out of the muggle clothes he wore specifically to defy his family and laid back down. He swore, cursing the quaffle and his own exhaustion.

It was well past one AM when Sirius finally crawled into his stately bed and turned off the lights with a wave of his wand.

When he finally slipped into unconsciousness it was to the sound of his brother walking around in the room next door, the family house elf pottering about the stairs and his parents having a row in the living room.

The last conscious thought of the night slipped into his head, _I really fucking hate this house._


	3. Old Hands

**Chapter 3: Old Hands**

The sun rose with a blinding brilliance the next morning, which shone through the cracks of the curtain in James room, waking him sharply.

Fumbling for his glasses, he slid them on, transforming the blur of his room into something sharp and recognizable. He had a lapse in memory before remembering where he was- The Leaky Caldron.

He got dressed and moved down the stairs to the main dining area where he quickly spotted his parents.

"Morning dear!" His mother, Euphemia said as he sat down at the table they were occupying.

Fleamont Potter's face was hidden behind the large expanses of the Daily Prophet, James looked around, _weird_ he thought. Most people seemed to have their head stuck in the paper.

James shrugged it off and continued eating the Pixie Puffs his mother had placed in front of him.

The elder Potter's were, well, elderly. Their hair had long been grey and their wrinkles pronounced.

"What is it dear?" Mrs. Potter asked her husband, helping herself to a serving of bacon.

Mr. Potter folded the paper down; his hair was as slicked back as you would expect the creator of Sleekeazys hair potion to be.

"There's been a rather nasty attack on a Muggle family in Bristol." He said, furrowing his brow. "Death Eaters it looks like."

Euphemia gave a disapproving _tut_ "the ministry really _must_ get a handle on all of this" She said, "it's ridiculous."

Euphemia Potter was a plumper lady with caring eyes. But she wasn't one for politics, and, no matter what the paper said, she could not (or would not) accept the truth of the war that was raging around them.

James grabbed the paper from where his father had put it down and ruffled the pages open with his free hand. Shoving another (rather large mouthful) of cereal into his mouth he proceeded to read:

 _Alleged Death Eaters attacked the Smith family at around 7pm last night on their way home from dinner at a local restaurant._

 _The second attack of its kind this week, it has sparked outrage and anger from the wizarding community. Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold had this to say…_

James stopped reading, it was always the same.

Mrs. Potter looked over towards the window where owls carrying the mail entered. "I heard a whisper that your letters were coming today." She said excitedly. "Ooh, I do hope this is it!"

A large, important looking Eagle owl swooped gracefully down onto the table next to James. There was a rather bulky letter tied onto the owl's leg. He wasn't worried though, his exams had been a breeze and he'd always been at the top of his year.

The owl gave a small hoot and James reached out a hand to retrieve his letter.

Once untied, the owl gave a small ruffle of his feathers and flew back out the window, leaving James clutching the envelope.

"Well go on then son," Mr. Potter said, giving his son an encouraging pat on the back.

James opened the envelope and pulled out the contents.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: O

Care of Magical Creatures: O

Charms: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O

Muggle Studies: E

Herbology: E 

History of Magic: O

Potions: E

Transfiguration: O

James read them over again, examining each drop of black ink on the parchment. His face broke out into a broad smile, _excellent_ he thought, six O's, what a snap. He went to put the envelope on the table but something small and heavy fell out. A badge. A red, shiny badge.

He turned it over in his hands.

 _Quidditch Captain._ James heart stopped. _Quidditch Captain._ He felt his jaw go slack.

Mrs. Potter poked her head over his shoulder to look at the results. She shrieked so loudly that several patrons gave the Potter's curious looks.

"NINE OWLS!" She yelled "SIX O'S! Jamie you've done so well!"

James didn't have long to cringe at his mother's pet name because he was enveloped into he largest hug he'd ever received.

"Good on you my boy!" His father gave him a pat on the back.

But James was oblivious to his surrounds; he was still looking at the little red badge that was sitting in his hand that meant more to him than any grade.

"What's that?" His father asked. But James couldn't answer; he just thrust the pin into his fathers' hand.

"Quidditch Captain!" He exclaimed. "James! This is- this is-" But he was lost for words.

James ears were ringing and he didn't hear his father stumble over his congratulations. Nothing else mattered, nothing except the little shiny pin in his hand.

The rest of the morning was monotonous compared to the exciting events of breakfast; he met back up with Sirius, Remus and Peter at Fortescue's ice cream with much talk of O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's. Peter had managed to escape his mother's eagle eye for a few hours and had slipped away via a neighbor's fireplace.

"Blimey James, Quidditch Captain! That's brilliant." Remus had said when he proudly showed them the proof.

"Flyn Alcorns' going to be seeing red!" Sirius said gleefully.

Peter was very excited about the whole thing. "What about your O.W.L's? He asked animatedly.

"Six O'S." Sirius winked, "my parents were furious they couldn't complain."

James gave Sirius a high- five, "Great minds think alike Padfoot, six here too."

The boys grinned, "It's been a good day for you then Prongs." Remus smiled.

"What about you Moony?"

"I'm pretty happy," Remus said as he licked his ice cream nonchalantly. "Four O's, no fails, I can't complain."

"Four! Six!" Peter exclaimed, head in hands. "How?"

Sirius winked, "natural genius."

"Come on, Wormtail, you didn't do _too_ badly." Remus gave a weak attempt at comforting him.

"I only got four O.W.L's!" He exclaimed.

"Well, you got two E's! They're good marks!" Remus reasoned.

Peter just groaned and put his head in his hands again with renewed zest.

"Come on then, lets get this blasted shopping over and done with. I want to go to the sweet shop." Sirius jumped up, initiating the rest of the group to do the same.

"Hey- hey Prongs," Sirius said, nudging James, "isn't that Lily Evans?"

 _Earlier that morning_

"Lily! Lily wake up dammit." Marlene shouted at her lazy friend.

Lily groaned and rolled over in the plush, leaky cauldron bed.

"Go 'way Marly." She murmured, her face squashed firmly into the pillow. "Is' middle of the night."

"No it's not, you've just slept half the day." Marlene said, jumping on the bed.

"Why do things by half? I say let's make it a full 24 hours." Lily added sarcastically.

"Ha ha," Marlene drawled, "but you're going to want to get up for this." She

added teasingly.

"I highly doubt it."

"Well, I guess you don't want to see your O.W.L results then…?'

At the word O.W.L, Lily's ears shot up and she was out of bed faster than a snitch.

"You mean they came?"

"Yes, while you were in your coma." It was then that Lily noticed the two envelopes Marlene was holding.

Lily lunged, Marlene screamed.

Ripping off the wax seal she tore the envelope open and read.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

LILY EVANS HAS ACHIEVED:

Astronomy: E

Charms: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O

Study Of Ancient Runes: O

Herbology: E 

History of Magic: O

Potions: O

Transfiguration: E

She could feel her heart trying to escape her chest.

"How are they?" Marlene asked eagerly.

"Th-they're alright." She answered shakily.

Marlene snatched the list out of her hands and read it for herself.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. How they hell did you get 5 O's? I- it just- it doesn't even matter. You're clearly abnormal because that's ridiculous!"

Lily grinned, "How did you do?"

"Pretty well, here, have a look" She gave Lily her results

"Only one fail! And I think we all knew I was going to blow Astronomy so no love lost there." She said shrugging. "Mum's downstairs, I just about had to hold her back to stop her opening your letter. She's dead curious so you better tell her what you've got." Marlene jumped off Lily's bed and left the room.

The McKinnon family was already at a table by the time Lily got downstairs. There were very few other patrons in the tavern as it was so late so they had a large corner to themselves, she felt a little bad about sleeping for so long but her and Marlene had been up till two AM talking and she was exhausted.

"Lily dear! We've saved you a seat." Mrs. McKinnon called over to her. It was rare to see Marlene's family these days; their high government positions took up most of their time.

"So Lily, how did you do?" Mr. McKinnon asked.

"Pretty well," She replied modestly.

"Pretty well? Come on Lily you do a bit better than pretty well." Marlene scolded through a mouthful of food.

"How many O.W.L's did you get?" Mr. McKinnon asked.

Lily swallowed her half- chewed toast hard, "Nine."

His eyebrows raised, "Wow, that's pretty impressive."

Marlene smiled, "Ask her how many O's she got, mum."

Mrs. McKinnon looked at Lily in anticipation.

"Five."

"Oh my word!" Mrs. McKinnon said, "That's brilliant."

They talked for a while till the McKinnon's had to leave for work.

"There's been a nasty attack on some muggles." Mr. McKinnon said as he excused himself. "Got to get in to the office, the Irish are going mad. There's talk of the war spilling over the border."

"Another one?" Marlene asked.

"Afraid so." He frowned and kissed her on the top of her head. "Stay out of trouble girls." He said with a wave. Mrs. McKinnon and Martha left not long after that, leaving Lily and Marlene on their own.

Marlene thus deemed it was time to go shopping. The two girls made their way through the pub and out back.

Pulling out her wand, Marlene tapped the bricks, allowing them to enter the colourful street.

Marlene grabbed her hand and looped their arms together.

"Honestly, I'm impressed mum and dad even came up at all, they've barley been home all holidays."

"I suppose they can't help it though can they? What is it your mum does? Senior Undersecretary to the minister or something?"

"Yeah that's it," Marlene grumbled, "whatever, I don't even care." She moved briskly on with a sliver of bitterness Lily didn't miss; "Alright, so I need all new quills and parchment and I need to stock up on sweets for the term. You know how my parents refuse to send me any…" Marlene started. " _And_ you need new dress robes Lily, you've grown heaps, - Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me!" She exclaimed, looking up.

"What?" Lily asked, but she needn't have bothered, she heard them before she saw them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Sirius Black smirked, clasping his hand on James Potters' smug shoulder.

Marlene mirrored his expression, "Haven't seen you in a while Black; hexed any one lately?"

"No one who didn't deserve it." He replied the grin still plastered on his face.

Lily smiled at Remus; they had become somewhat friends over the last year of being Gryffindor prefects.

"Hey Lily," He grinned. "How has your holidays been?"

"Oh, alright, you know, the usual…"

She felt someone's eyes on her; she looked up to find bright hazel eyes staring at her.

"Can I help you?" She asked with snark.

James, to her surprise, looked conflicted, "Err… umm."

Lily furrowed her brow, "what?" She wasn't the biggest fan of James or Sirius at the moment and wasn't in the mood for his babbling.

"Did you get your results?" He spat out, in a not so subtle attempt to bring up his captainship.

"Yeah," Marlene replied. "You?"

James pointed at the shiny new badge already pinned to his clothes.

"Quidditch captain. Nice." Marlene said, trying not to act impressed. She knew how Lily was feeling and friends weren't chummy with the object of their friend's annoyance.

"C'mon lads, let's not waste any more of these lovely lady's time. See you McKinnon, see you Evans." Sirius winked as he pushed James away from the embarrassment he could see coming.

He always managed to act a fool in front of Lily.

"Ugh, Black may be the fittest bloke at school, but he sure can be annoying sometimes." Marlene said flipping her hair as they walked away.

"You're telling me."

Lily's mind wandered for the next ten minutes as Marlene listed off a string of things she insisted she _needed_ to buy.

Lily herself was still flustered from her brief interaction with James, she hadn't _really_ spoken to him since the _incident_ last term and it was rather jarring to see him again.

"Come on, let's get going or all the good quills will be gone." Marlene had come up for air in her tirade, interrupting Lily's own spiraling thoughts.

Marlene stopped in her tracks, as though she had forgotten something of high importance, "But sweetshop first!"

The two girls were walking quite contentedly along the street, their shopping bags swinging and their arms full with brown paper packages.

Marlene glanced at her watch as Lily paused to admire a quill in a window.

"I'm exhausted." Marlene said with a yawn. "Do we need anything else?"

Lily riffled through her bags and counted out loud. "Potions ingredients… books… robes… quills… No I think we've got everything."

The sun was beginning to set over London and there were very few people left on the streets.

It was easy to forget the world around them while eating 'Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans' and talking about the new school year but the posters warning of the threat of Death Eaters were becoming harder and harder to ignore. It was especially dangerous for Lily, surviving as a Muggle born was a feat in itself these days.

They veered their course back to the Leaky Cauldron. The stairs creaked under their weight as their heavy limbs trudged up the old, winding stairs to their room. They hadn't seen their fellow Gryffindor's since their meeting earlier that afternoon, a fact Lily was quite pleased with.

Marlene stifled a yawn, "I need to sleep!" She tried to say, however, it came out a garbled mess of indecipherable syllables.

Lily understood what she was trying to say, "Just think, a few more days and we'll be back in our four- poster beds, think of the welcoming feast!"

There was a rare, shinning moment where the wasn't a slither of sarcasm in Marlene's voice, "Can't come soon enough for my liking."

The door was kicked open by- either Marlene or Lily, they couldn't tell which and had forgotten moments later- their eyes trained firmly on the squishy beds that looked more welcoming then ever.

They slipped into unconsciousness without a word. The knowledge of the comforting surrounds of Hogwarts that they would be returning to so soon, lulling them into a slumber.

"Do you really think she hates me?" James pondered as the four boys lounged about in his room.

Sirius shrugged, "no clue, why don't you ask her?"

James threw a shoe at his head but Sirius ducked in time, "I can't do that!" he exclaimed, "I'd look like an idiot."

Remus interjected, "ahh yes because all your encounters with Lily Evans have gone so well so far."

James flung himself on his bed, sprawled out like a starfish on top of the covers. "I just – I just don't _get_ her." He tried very hard to make it sound throwaway.

He failed.

"Why don't you just, you know, move on? What's so special about Lily?" Peter asked, shrugging.

James didn't know exactly what it was about her, all he knew was that since she'd given him that verbal smack down last term he'd become even more infatuated.

"It's just, I have no idea. There's just something _about_ her."

"You don't think it has anything to do with the fact that she doesn't – you know – fall for it?" Remus enquired.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Like, Quidditch for example, she couldn't be less impressed. And she's not blown away by your class rankings because she's right up there with you."

James frowned. He did always find hercouldn't care less approach to anything James Potter related to be strangely alluring.

"And she actively dislikes your, well, your whole hexing people for fun thing."

"But that's the whole point of it – it's funny." Sirius said.

"Maybe for you…" Remus said but didn't push the subject further.

James rolled onto his stomach, "She'll come around." He said with a touch of arrogance. "You know, now she's ditched Snivellus… maybe she'll give me a shot. I'm telling you, she _wanted_ to smile before, he said _that word._ I saw her."

"Whatever you say Prongs."

James was again on his back, staring at the canopy above. She was going to come around _eventually_. She'd see that he wasn't all Quidditch and hair and fat headedness. He was sure of it.

The boys eventually dispersed. Peter with a shriek after glancing at his watch because, 'my mum is going to go mental!' Remus with a backwards wave and 'see you later and finally Sirius with a reluctant goodbye. 

Eventually James was left with nothing but his thoughts .

Thoughts that formed the exact shape as a particular red headed witch.


	4. September Starts

4\. **September Starts-**

"We're going to be late!" cried a brown eyed teenage girl as she rushed through King's Cross Station. She was trailed by another girl, three years younger than herself and a boy of barely 11. She flipped her mop of natural curls to the other side of her head as she ran.

"Calm down," the younger girl rolled her eyes. "It's 10:50, we'll get there in plenty of time."

"Noel, It's Elijah's first year, I want him to experience platform 9 ¾ _properly_." She stressed.

Elijah spoke up, "I've been to the platform heaps, I've seen you off every year you left for school."

"You've never been to the platform as a student. I want you to experience Hogwarts the way it should be experienced. Every last bit. You need time to take it all in."

They'd reached the gateway between the muggle and wizarding realms by the time she'd stopped talking.

Noel was the first to disappear into the expanse of the brick wall, followed by Elijah and finally by their elder sister – Emmmeline.

Suddenly, the mundane of King's Cross train station dissolved in favour of a fraction of the thriving, colourful, positively _magical_ wizarding world.

Emmeline, put her hand on her brother's shoulder, "let's find somewhere to put our trunks."

Loading their suitcases onto the train, the trio turned back to where their fellow students and their families were saying goodbye. Their own parents hadn't been able to attend the farewell. Their father was a muggle investment banker and their mother was a healer with a double shift at St. Mungo's.

Noel broke out into a broad grin and waved at a spot over Elijah's shoulder, "I'll talk to you later Em, I can see Claudia."

The girl left her siblings and went to join her fellow third year.

"How are you feeling?" Emmeline asked her brother.

He shrugged, scratching his ear, "fine, I guess."

Emmeline went to unnecessarily smooth down his shortly cropped curls, "there's that Gryffindor bravery!"

"You know I might not even _be_ in Gryffindor. Noel isn't."

"Yeah well Noel is – Noel." Her sister was about as typical a Ravenclaw as you could get. She didn't suffer fools and refused to be guided by anything but logic and reason. Noel being a Ravenclaw was as inevitable as Chudley Cannons finishing the season at the bottom of the ladder.

Her brother however was a different matter altogether - she was sure he was a Gryffindor, through and through.

"HEY!" they turned to see their sister calling for their attention, "Elijah come over here, Claudia's brother is a firstie as well. You can sit together on the train."

Elijah gave Emmeline a half wave and made his way over to where an equally scrawny blonde boy was standing. The physical differences of the two boys was striking. Claudia's brother looked like he'd never seen the sun, his eyebrows were barely visible and his hair was but a shade darker than snow. Alternatively, the Vance's Jamaican heritage ensured Elijah's skin was a deep mocha whatever the season.

She was glad he'd have someone to sit with on the long journey. She'd originally supposed he'd have to tag along with her but she couldn't imagine many 11 year old boys reveled in spending hours with their 16 year old sister and her friends.

Speaking of whom…

She caught a glimpse of red hair in her peripheral vision.

"Em!" Lily Evans rushed to embrace her friend. "Finally! Holidays are far too long in my opinion. Two months is an obscene amount of time."

"Agreed." Emmeline said with a grin.

"Ahem." They'd been joined by another girl of the same age, wearing a broad grin. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

"Marlene! Oh, I can't believe it, I've even missed your sarcasm." They hugged.

"Absence really _does_ make the heart grow fonder."

The three girls clambered aboard, "so tell me about London. Sorry I couldn't get away. Dad's got it into his head that I need experience in 'the real world.'" She made air quotes with her fingers, "he made me get a job in the local supermarket. Can you imagine living like that? No magic – nada – zilch!" Emmeline threw her arms up in exasperation. "I dropped a pint of milk one day and it took me half an hour to clean it up. It's absolute madness."

Lily laughed, "and now you know why the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery is the absolute bane of my existence."

"Lil, I have a newfound respect for you." The curly haired witch said in all sincerity. "I'd never considered how unfair the trace is before. You know, you'd have thought they'd have come up with a way to close the loophole."

"I think the ministry has a fair bit on its plate right now. I can't imagine they give much of a damn about much other than – you know."

"Fair enough" Emmeline shrugged, and mention of the war brought the mood crashing down.

They found their way into an empty carriage. "So – how _was_ London?"

"Excellent." Lily said, "we went to Diagon Alley, spent a bit of time in muggle London... It was nice to get out of Cokeworth for a bit."

"You didn't see _him_ – did you?"

Lily knew exactly who Emmeline was alluding to.

She crossed her arms, "I didn't _talk_ to him if that's what you mean."

Marlene smiled. Emmeline was visibly relieved. "Oh good."

Lily wasn't in the mood for another round of Snape bashing, "let's just forget about it okay. I don't want to start our 6th year off in a bad mood."

Marlene began a dramatic retelling of the latest scandal involving two singers on the wizarding wireless.

The train had been chugging along for some two hours before the lull of the engine and rhythm of the tracks put Lily to sleep. She had ducked out for the prefects meeting and come back exhausted just at the thought of the excess work the new head boy and girl were going to dump on the prefects this year. She'd notice Snape trying to grab her eye for the full half hour but she pointedly ignored him.

"She's out like a light." Marlene said waving a hand in front of Lily's eyes. Her head had fallen onto the window pane.

"Do you really think she's over Snape?" Emmeline asked, eyes still on her sleeping friend.

Marlene withdrew her hand and returned to her seat. "Doubt it. It'd a pretty awful way to lose a friend. I just hope she doesn't given him a second chance."

Emmeline shook her head. "His second chance came and went after he started running round using dark magic. You know they don't even know what spell it was that nearly took Mary MacDonald's ear off last year. She told me Madame Pomfrey said she'd never seen anything like it."

Marlene scowled, "they're vile: Snape, Avery, Mulciber – the lot of them."

Emmeline pulled her legs up and crossed them underneath herself, "you're telling me."

"What about Potter?"

"What about him?"

"You know she doesn't hate him. She said all those things by the lake because she was mad. If we're being really honest - for a while there last year I thought she kind of liked him."

Marlene didn't feel bad about discussing Lily without her knowledge. In Marlene's eyes, it was for the greater good – better Emmeline know all the facts to be best positioned to give the obligatory, unwarranted advice only best friends could provide.

Lily stirred.

"Are we there yet?" She garbled.

The other girls ceased their conversation as the train lurched to a stop.

"I'll take that as a yes." Marlene said as she stood to remove her trunk from the overhead railing.

The girls joined the herd of black- swathed students moving towards the carriages.

They spotted several people they knew.

Lily waved at Kingsley Shackelbolt, the new head boy and Emmeline was relieved to see Elijah giggling away with a group of other first years as they approached Hagrid, the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts.

Hagrid nodded in the direction of the three Gryffindor girls. "Evenin.'"

They smiled in return and kept pushing through the hoards to find the carriages that were to take them up to the castle.

Marlene's stomach grumbled as they clambered aboard. "Dumbledore better have pulled out all the stops tonight." She said as they waited for more students to fill the cab.

"Yes, I'm sure he's down there right now with the house elves just cooking up a storm." Lily deadpanned.

"Can you just imagine that? Dumbledore wearing an apron with this beard all tied up in a hair net." Emmeline said.

The girls were still laughing when a few latecomers joined them in the carriage. Lily didn't notice at first, who the four boys who had climbed aboard were – until they opened their mouths.

"Good evening ladies." Sirius Black said as he threw himself down gracefully next to Emmeline.

"Lost something?" Lily enquired rhetorically, eyebrow raised.

"Not at all, can't blame us for wanting to enjoy the presence of your company." James Potter smirked.

"And you can't blame me for not wanting the same." She got up to leave. She was still keen to avoid James for as long as humanely possible. But the carriage had already begun its ascent to the castle.

The unexpected movement unsteadied her footing and she tripped in the overcrowded carriage, falling suddenly.

Right onto James Potter's lap.

Excellent.

Sirius made a crude joke while Marlene snickered at something Remus had said quietly in the corner. Lily quickly jumped up and returned to her original seat, muttering something about the dangers of carriages exceeding their capacity. 

James coughed, "See I knew you were lying about the giant squid." He said, pretending he wouldn't be reliving that moment for the rest of the week.

"You wish." Lily turned her head, suddenly finding the forest unimaginably fascinating.

James glanced at the rest of the passengers. Remus and Peter were trading chocolate frog cards, Emmeline and Marlene were squashed up next to Lily and Sirius was lounging beside them, occasionally offering up suggestion to Remus and Peter as to which cards to exchange.

"Your hair's longer." He said, running his hand through his own mop.

"Excuse me?" She was surprised at the unusual - tone of his voice.

"Your hair – it used to be shoulder length – it's longer."

It was sincerity.

"Oh" She pulled her hair round to her right self-consciously, "yeah I grew it out." It now came down just past the half way point of her bicep.

"I didn't realise hair grew so fast."

"Well, it doesn't. I'm a witch-remember?"

James laughed. "What – not scared of the ministry?"

Lily was hesitant, James was being perfectly pleasant. A far cry from that bully by the lake that had consumed her thoughts for a good part of two months.

"No, but really what does the ministry care about a hair lengthening charm?" The carriage lurched to a stop. Lily would never get used to the sight of the castle. If she woke up tomorrow and it had all been a dream she thought it would be what she missed most.

James tried to offer a hand to help her out of the carriage but she took the rail instead. He played it off as an exaggerated stretch.

The Gryffindor's separated. Lily put James out her mind as she followed her friends to the corner of the entry hall. They were chatting to another girl in their dorm, Cassandra Alamuddin. Her mother was British but her father was Syrian so she always had fascinating stories to tell of her summers spent abroad.

"Hey Cass." Lily greeted as she approached the group.

"Hi Lily. Good hols?"

"Yeah it was alright."

"Nice! I went to– "Cassandra suddenly pointed at something over Lily's shoulder "Hey - I think Severus Snape is trying to get your attention. You're friends with him, right?"

Lily turned and sure enough, Severus Snape was hovering by a pillar looking like an overgrown bat in his too-big robes.

Lily gritted her teeth, "no, we're not." She replied sternly, refocusing her attention on the girls in front of her.

"Oh really? I thought… never mind." Cassandra didn't push the subject however, and began recounting her latest tale.

As it was time to go in for the sorting, Lily was trailing just slightly behind the other Gryffindor girls when an arm reached out and grabbed her elbow.

"Hey! "She began but stopped when her would be assailant was revealed. Severus.

She yanked her arm away roughly, "don't touch me Snape." She spat.

He frowned, his black eyes boring into her green ones. "Since when have you ever called me Snape." He said, entirely missing the point.

"Since when have you ever called me mudblood?" She growled, hands shaking. "You stay away from me, Snape. I mean it. Don't talk to me, don't look at me and do _not_ touch me."

Her face hot and she followed Emmeline and Marlene into the hall without a backwards glance.

Lily caught up and took a seat beside Emmeline at the Gryffindor table. Marlene raised her eyebrows at Lily's late arrival but the prefect shook her head. _Not now_ she said wordlessly.

The chatter in the room subsided as the large wooden doors swung open. Out strode Professor McGonagall, clutching a three legged stool and a rather tattered hat.

Lily remembered her own sorting; how she had been praying for Slytherin, how the hat took less than a second to open its flap and declare she was a Gryffindor, how it took the same length of time to decide Severus was a Slytherin…

Lily wondered how differently things would have turned out if the hat had made a different decision and they'd been together these past six years. In all honesty, she supposed, the outcome wouldn't have been so unalike. Severus would have still been obsessed with the dark arts and Lily would have still been a muggle born.

Emmeline broke out into a huge grin. She nudged Lily in the side. "Look, there's Elijah!"

Lily soon spotted the youngest Vance towards the front of the group of first years trailing behind the Deputy Headmistress.

The sorting began as usual, with a song:

You may dislike my chitty,  
But I can guarantee,  
I'll find the house where you will shine  
Yes, there's no smarter hat than me. 

A thousand years old

Yet still sharp as a tack

Or at least that's what I am told  
For I'm the Sorting Hat

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindor's apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So try me on, I promise, there's nothing to be afraid!  
For many more have here sat,

And let me pick their brains

So, take a seat, and I'll do my best,

To place you with your kin

And so, I now declare, let the sorting begin!

The students and staff broke out into raucous applause.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to talking accessories." Lily whispered in Emmeline's ear as the first student (Anderson, Harold) took his place on the stool.

The rest of the sorting flew by, all the while, the girls waited anxiously for Elijah's turn.

There was only five or so students left by the time McGonagall announced Vance, Elijah.

Emmeline gripped Lily's hand and she gave it a reassuring squeeze in return. Elijah moved slowly up the steps and sat facing his fellow students. Lily could see his deep brown eyes widen in anticipation.

It fell below his eyebrows and the hat shifted in consideration. It paused, as if sensing the tension of the moment then bellowed:

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table to the left of Gryffindor erupted in cheers. Lily felt Emmeline's grip slacken.

"Em-" Marlene began, reaching a hand over the table in comfort. "You knew it was always a possibility."

"I-I was so sure." Emmeline was slack jawed. "He's going to be surrounded by those- those… snakes!" She was enraged. Her glare was boring into the backs of Mulciber and Avery's heads.

Lily placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "he's a smart kid. He won't fall for their rubbish, Em. I wouldn't worry."

Emmeline flicked her gaze on to Lily. "Snape did." Her eyes were like fire.

Lily tensed. "Snape's nothing like Elijah. Elijah couldn't cast a dark spell if he wanted to."

"Ugh!" Emmeline exclaimed, throwing her head into her hands. "At least Noel is in Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw I can deal with, Hufflepuff I could have dealt with. But Slytherin… They'll eat him alive!"

Emmeline's despondency was interrupted by Dumbledore's welcome speech, or better yet, welcome sentence.

"Welcome one and all." His voice boomed throughout the hall. "I'll not keep you from your dinner."

And with his usual abruptness, he resumed his seat and summoned the feast from the kitchens. Lily's stomach rumbled. She hadn't realised how hungry she'd been. The girls dug in to their dinners. Ready to eat themselves silly.

Down the table, four boys were sat engrossed in conversation.

"Did you see Snape? He just – walked up to her." James said, moving his mashed potato around on his plate.

Remus snorted, "well he wasn't about to fly, was he?"

"Or swim."

"Or run!"

"What would be so odd about that?" Remus asked Peter.

"I don't know, I couldn't think of anything to add. It felt like we were doing a bit."

James smirked. "You're relieved Wormtail." He looked back down at his plate. "But seriously, you don't think she's taken him back. Has she?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "They weren't dating Prongs."

"You know what I mean!" He strained.

"Well, in any case, I doubt it. I'm honestly surprised she even talked to you in the carriage. She still seems pretty sore about the whole thing."

Sirius flicked his hair out his face. Ignorant to the group of Ravenclaws ogling the back of his head as he did so. "As she should be. Snively was out of line. But Prongs had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah why should she be mad at Prongs, he didn't _make_ Snape say anything! He was defending her."

"Exactly, Wormtail!" James exclaimed. "She can't possibly be upset with me. You think I'd still be standing and not in the hospital wing if she was?" He declined to mention her rejection of his hand.

"You're sitting." Remus pointed out.

"Yes, but I could stand if I wanted to which is the whole point. Lily Evans doesn't hate me!"

Remus threw a piece of carrot into his mouth, "whatever you say."

James looked over to where Lily sat, consoling what appeared to be a stricken Emmeline Vance. He briefly wondered why but didn't care enough to go over and enquire. Her hand was on her friends shoulder, her eyes filled with compassion and lips moving to express what James could only assume were words of reassurance.

It was then that he made a resolution: At the welcoming feast of his 7th year he would either have succeeded in wooing Lily Evans or have succeeded in getting absolutely, 100% over her.

The only down side: he wasn't so confident in his ability to do either.


End file.
